The Black Butler of Notre Dame
by SwannTurner
Summary: Kuroshitsuji, to the tune of the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Paris is plagued by the not-quite human Claude Faustus. When he accidentally orphans a gypsy child, the evil judge sends it to live in the church. Rebels within Paris have been trying to oust Faustus, and the mysterious bell ringer, Snake, may be just what they need.
1. Chapter 1

The sun peeked over the horizon, stretching its golden rays over the city. The sleepy city quickly came to life as bells echoed throughout the city and people left their cozy homes and entered the streets. Several children gathered around a fountain as a man with bright red hair began singing, coaxing them to listen.

"Morning in Paris, the city awakes, to the bells of Notre Dame. The fisherman fishes, the baker man bakes to the bells of Notre Dame. To the big bells as loud as the thunder, to the little bells soft as a psalm. And some say the soul of the city's the toll of the bells, the bells of Notre Dame."

"Listen," said the young man, "they're beautiful, no? So many colors of sound, so many changing moods, because you know, they don't ring all by themselves."

"They don't?" said a small boy.

"No, you silly boy. Up there, high, high in the dark bell tower, lives the mysterious bell ringer. Who is this creature?"

"Who?" said the children.

"What is he?"

"What?"

"How did he come to be there?"

"How?"

"Hush," the children settled down to listen, eyes full of wonder, "and Joker will tell you. It is a tale, a tale of a man and a monster…"

_Dark was the night when our tale was begun on the docks near Notre Dame._

A small group of dark figures darted across from the shadows. They moved silently, save for occasional cries from a woman's arms.

"Shut it up will you?" snapped one of the men.

"We'll be spotted!"

"Hush little one," she whispered to her child.

_Four frightened gypsies slid silently under the docks near Notre Dame._

"Four guilders for safe passage out of Paris," charged a man at the end of the docks. As the group rustled for coin, a dark man appeared from the shadows, flanked by guards.

_But a trap had been laid for the gypsies, and they gazed up in fear and alarm at a figure whose clutches were iron as much as the bells._

"Judge Claude Faustus!" cried one of the gypsies.

_The bells of Notre Dame._

Claude Faustus was the scourge of Paris. He had showed up in the city several years before, and things had never been the same since. Faustus, as judge, ruled the city's guards and seemed to have eyes and ears everywhere. Almost nothing happened in Paris without his knowledge. There was one group of people, however, whose movements were extremely difficult for Faustus to follow; rebels who wanted him gone. In the few years of his occupation of the city, numerous assassination attempts were made to oust him, all of which were stopped early in planning. All conspirators were swiftly…removed. Claude Faustus also forbid anyone except his closest guard from leaving the city.

_Judge Claude Faustus longed to purge the world of vice and sin. And he saw corruption everywhere except within._

Faustus' eyes flashed red as he swept them over the small group. "Bring these gypsy vermin to the Palace of Justice." The men were immediately seized. One guard paused over the woman, tightly clutching a bundle to her chest.

"You there, what are you hiding?" he demanded.

"Stolen goods no doubt," said Faustus, "take them from her."

_She ran._

The woman darted away from the guards and sprinted down the streets. Every time she looked behind her, Faustus seemed to be right behind her, without having a horse. She turned a corner and saw the church in front of her. Making a dash for it, she glanced once more and didn't see Faustus. With a final burst of speed, she reached the front doors and pounded on them desperately.

"Sanctuary, please give us sanctuary!"

The doors remained closed, and she turned to run again, only to run smack into Faustus. With a scream she tried to turn, but he grabbed at the bundle in her arms, catching it in his claw-like hands. The woman struggled to regain it, but with a final tug Faustus freed it from her grasp, sending her flying backwards. She stumbled and cracked her head on the steps, where she remained motionless. Faustus, without giving her a second glance, peered into the folds of his prize.

"A baby? ... A monster!"

Faustus searched for a solution to the horrifying thing in front of him. Finally his eyes found a nearby well and he raised the roll of cloth up to throw it in-

"Stop!" _Cried the archdeacon._ He came stumbling out of the church, a clumsily wrapped turban around his tousled white hair.

"This is an unholy demon, I'm sending it back to hell where it belongs," said Faustus.

"See there the innocent blood you have split, on the steps of Notre Dame?" Agni gestured to the poor woman's limp body, already forgotten by Faustus.

"I am guiltless. She ran, I pursued."

"Now you would add this child's blood to your guilt, on the steps of Notre Dame?"

"My conscious is clear!" he huffed.

Agni's eyes flashed. "You can lie to yourself and your minions. You can claim that you haven't a qualm. But you never can run from nor hide what you've done from the eyes, the very eyes of Notre Dame!"

_And for one time in his life of power and control, Faustus felt a twinge of fear for his demonic soul_.

"What must I do?" he pleaded.

"Care for the child and raise it as your own."

"What?" Faustus seethed. "I am to be settled with this, disfigured? ..." He thought about it for a moment, before turning back to Agni and handing him the child. "Very well, but let him live with you in your church."

"Live here? Where?"

"Anywhere. Just so he's kept locked away where no one else can see, the bell tower perhaps. And who knows, the lord works in mysterious ways." Faustus' eyes glowed red as he retreated back into the shadows and his words echoed. "Even this foul creature may yet prove one day to be of use to me."

_And Faustus gave the child a cruel name, a name to forever point out his unfortunate condition…Snake…_

Joker jumped up, startling the entranced children. "Now here is a riddle to guess if you can sing the bells of Notre Dame. Who is the monster and who is the man? Sing the bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells, bells of Notre Dame!"

In the background, the bells chimed as the children scattered, the young man with the red hair already long disappeared.


	2. Chapter 2

Hi! I know it's been a while since I published the first chapter. I was working full time over the summer and didn't have much time to write. Plus I got sick and that completely eliminated any chance of anything creative happening. But as classes are back in session hopefully I will find more time to devote to writing this story, among others. I have a Twitter now, which can also be found on my Fanfiction profile page. /SuzanneTimm I will post updates for chapters and other stories there in between chapters, so if you're wondering how the next chapter is coming along, be sure to check it out! I'm really excited to see that you guys are enjoying this story and your enthusiasm is really encouraging. Thank you to all of you who have read the first chapter and will keep following the story! Thanks!

Chapter Two

A small snake slithered across the dusty floor. Its tongue flicked out, tasting the air. Another snake slid out from the shadows. With a jerk, the first snake quickly scurried away. It found refuge in the pant leg, slithering up the leg of the human who occupied it.

Snake gently stroked the reptile's head as it perched on his shoulder. "Now, now, she's not that scary is she?" he asked. The snake looked back at where he'd come from and wrapped himself closer around the human. "Come now, I bet if you tried, she'd take you." The snake hissed softly. "Just give it a try," Snake coaxed. "No one wants to be alone forever."

He carefully removed the snake from his body and set it on the floor. The reptile began to move toward the other snake, and then stopped to look back at the human. Snake gave it a reassuringly smile and the snake proceeded. It cautious approached the other snake and rubbed up against her. She rubbed her head against his is response, flicking her tongue. Delighted, the snake hurried back to the human, who picked him up. The snake flicked his tongue on the human's nose happily. "See?" Snake said, "I told you you could do it. Now hurry back to her, you've got a good life now." He put down the snake, which swiftly returned to his mate and the two of them disappeared among the floorboards and rafters.

Snake was happy for his little friend, but he'd miss him terribly. He hoped that the snake would come back to visit from time to time.

"Why the long face?" peeped a gray statue, who dropped from the rafters.

"Maybe he doesn't want to talk about it Finny, ever think of that?" said Bard, venturing in.

"It's ok guys," Snake said, "I just helped the little one get his mate."

"That snake?" said Maylene, glancing around, "He always made me nervous."

"It looks like you've got something more on your mind than that snake," Finny pointed out.

Snake sighed. "It's just that the Festival of Fools is today."

"Oooh, is it really?" said Maylene, "Why, it seems like it was just last week that we had that festival. Hard to believe it's been a whole year again. I can't wait to hear the music and see the dancing! Oh! And the costumes!"

"I don't think you're helping, Maylene," said Bard sternly.

"I'm sorry guys," said Snake, "I just…I just really wish I could go."

"Then go!" chirped Finny.

"Yeah!" agreed Maylene.

"We'll get you all spiffed up," said Bard. "We'll get you some fresh clothes and-  
"Thanks, but you're all forgetting something, my master," Snake said glumly. The trio murmured and nodded.

"Well," said Finny, "I guess you'll just have to sneak out!"

"What?! No!"

"Come on, Snake," said Bard, "you'll just have to sneak out, go to the festival, and sneak back."

"Faustus won't even know you're gone!" squeaked Maylene.

Snake frowned, "I don't know, if he found out-"

"Just go!" They chimed.

"After all," said Bard, "who wants to be alone up here with us forever?"

After a moment, Snake smiled. "All right," he said, "I'll do it! I'm going to go down there, march through the hall, burst through those doors and-"

"Hello, Snake."

Snake stopped dead in his tracks. "H-hello, master."

Cold eyes scanned the dusty room. "Who were you talking to?"

"Uh, my…friends."

"Ah. And what," Faustus said coolly, walking circles around the trio, which had turned to stone, "are your friends made of?"

"Stone."

"Does stone talk?"

"No sir."

Faustus smiled. "Good boy. Now, how about lunch?"

"Yes master!" Snake dashed about the room, hastily setting up the tiny table with a fancy glass and plate for Faustus, and a rough wooden goblet and slab for himself.

"Shall we review your alphabet today?"

"Y-yes master, I would like that."

"Very well," said Faustus darkly. "A?"

"Atrocious."

"B?"

"Beastly."

"C?"

"Corrupt."

"D?"

"Detestable."

"E?"

"Evil."

"F?"

"Festival," slipped out before Snake could catch himself. Faustus stopped and looked at Snake with dark eyes that gave Snake shivers.

"What did you say?"

"I-I'm sorry master. It's, it's just that the festival is today and I was just wondering-"

"You want to go to the festival."

Snake gulped. "Yes sir."

Faustus sighed, "Dear boy, I thought I told you that you are forbidden?"

"I know, master, it's just that you get to go every year and-"

"I am a public figure," he said, walking to the archway. Snake followed. "I have to go, but trust me I don't enjoy it at all. All of those thieves, no goods, and gypsies. Snake," he said with a glance.

"The world is cruel, the world is wicked. It's I alone whom you can trust in this whole city. I am your only friend," Faustus said definitively. "I who keep you, teach you, feed you, dress you. I who look upon you without fear." Snake's eyes stared at the floor, horribly aware of his unfortunate skin condition. "How can I protect you boy unless you always stay in here, away in here." Faustus walked away from the archway, back into the confines of the top of the cathedral. "Remember what I taught you Snake."

"You are deformed."

"I am deformed," Snake said quietly.

"And you are ugly."

"And I am ugly.

"And these are crimes for which the world shows little pity. You do not comprehend."

"You are my one defender."

Faustus gestured toward the light from outside and the world beyond. "Out there they'll revile you as a monster."

"I am a monster."

"Out there they will hate and scorn and jeer."

"Only a monster."

"Why invite their calumny and consternation? Stay in here. Be faithful to me."

"I'm faithful."

"Grateful to me."

"I'm grateful."

Faustus' dark eyes bored into Snake's, "Then do as I say, obey, and stay in here."

"I'll stay in here."

"Good boy," said Faustus, heading for the way down.

"I'm sorry master."

"You are forgiven, Snake. But remember, it is a dark, cruel world out there."

Snake turned as the door shut, still longing to go to the festival. He went to the archway and looked at the people on the streets, as he had innumerable times before.

"Safe behind these windows and these parapets of stone, gazing at the people down below me. All my life I've watched them as I hide up here alone, hungry for the histories they show me."

"All my life I've memorized their faces, knowing them as they will never know me. All my life I've wondered how it feels to pass a day, not above them, but part of them…"

"And out there, living in the sun. Give me one day out there, all I ask is one, to hold forever. Out there where they all live unaware, what I'd give, what I'd dare, just to live one day out there!"

Snake ran along the high rail that surrounded the top of the cathedral, his practiced limbs accustomed to the height.

"Out there among the millers and the weavers and their wives, through the roofs and gables I can see them. Every day they shout and scold and go about their lives, heedless of the gift it is to be them." He began scaling one of the towers to perch himself on the top of the steeple.

"If I was in their skin I'd treasure every instant. Out there strolling by the Seine, taste the morning out there, like ordinary men who freely walk about there, just one day and then I swear I'll be content, with my share." Snake swung down into the bell tower surrounded by the bells he lived for. He pulled each rope in turn, making each bell shout out its tone.

"Won't resent, won't despair, old and scaly, I won't care. I'll have spent one day out there!"


End file.
